BY GEORGE! STONES ARE SAVOURING EVERY DROP
HIRING a grass pitch to train on, a pre-match walk to visit fans in the pub and a whole heap of belief – Maidstone United boss George Elokobi says his players were determined to savour every minute of their latest FA Cup adventure.
And how they did, showing all their character and resilience to upset Championship high-flyers Ipswich Town in their own back yard.
Even pranksters setting off fire alarms at the Stones’ hotel in the middle of the night couldn’t knock the National League South off their stride.
With Lamar Reynolds’ exquisite finish and Sam Corne’s cool winner, the Stones stunned the Tractor Boys and wrote yet another chapter in their own history book.
“If you know George Elokobi – I am a believer,” Elokobi said. “As an individual, as a management team, we believed we could truly come here and compete against a fantastic Championship side.
“In our preparations we showed every bit of respect to Ipswich Town. We normally train on 3G but we hired a grass pitch. We looked at the dimensions of Ipswich’s pitch and we created that in our environment to give our boys visuals and create what we were going to be coming up against. Waves of attacks, so our defenders can be resilient.
“Each and every person who was fit to take part today, knew what their jobs were. We knew we had to run a little bit more than we’ve ever done. But we believed.
“My director of football, Mr Bill Williams, has been in football for 64 years. He’s 82. A fantastic man. I don’t know if it’s reverse psychology but when we drew Barrow, a fantastic League Two outfit, he said, ‘I don’t think we will do it’.
“I looked at him and said, ‘Watch history being made here’. When we drew Stevenage, I’ve got the text I sent to my best mate where I told him it was winnable. No one believed. I did straightaway.
“When we drew Ipswich I said, ‘If this is the Last Dance, we’re going to go out dancing and dancing well’.
“You have to believe in everything you do in life. That’s me. I am a positive person. We’ve got the right balance – in wins, in draws, in losses.
“Our environment has been built off honesty, openness, belief, integrity. If you have that, what’s to fear? We had nothing to lose. I told my players whatever happened, I am immensely proud of them.”
Ipswich boss Kieran McKenna praised the Stones’ fight.
“It’s full credit to Maidstone, it’s a fantastic day for them,” he said. “They worked ever so hard for it. They rode their luck as well but they were very clinical and showed a fantastic spirit to get the result.
“It’s a bad day for us and there’s a lot of disappointment. We’re going to have to live with that and produce a response next week.”